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December 23, 2011

Free holiday rides from Johnnie Walker, DOT

The New York City Department of Transportation is once again sponsoring free rides during the holiday through its You the Manfree voucher program.In a partnership with Johnnie Walker, the DOT is handing out 4,000 single-ride MetroCards and 1,500 $15 debit cards to use in the city’s 13,000-plus taxicabs, participating livery car services, MTA, PATH, NJ Transit or other ticketing machines from until noon on Jan. 1.The free cards will be handed out today at 5 p.m. at the St. George Ferry Terminal at Staten Island and at the Fulton Mall in Downtown Brooklyn.More free cards will be handed out Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. on the Upper East Side at 2nd Avenue at 86th Street and in Harlem at Broadway & 125th Street.

Police Tactic: Keeping Crime Reports Off the Books

Published: December 30, 2011

Jill Korber walked into a drab police station in Queens in July to report that a passing bicyclist had groped her two days in a row. She left in tears, frustrated, she said, by the response of the first officer she encountered.

Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times

Jill Korber was frustrated by the Police Department’s response after she was groped by a passing cyclist two days in a row.

“He told me it would be a waste of time, because I didn’t know who the guy was or where he worked or anything,” said Ms. Korber, 34, a schoolteacher. “His words to me were, ‘These things happen.’ He said those words.”

Lifelong Illness Led West Hartford Woman To Help Others (The Hartford Courant)
For Janis Spurlock, being born with a serious medical condition was a catalyst that prompted her to help other sick people either those like her with sickle cell disease , or people living with AIDS/HIV. “She turned what might have seemed [a] limiting situation into the empathy that taught the folks she worked with how to live with chronic … (more)

An 18-year-old Manhattan man was shot dead early Friday at a Harlem birthday party, apparently by his girlfriend’s other beau, police sources said. Walter Sumpter was struck once in the chest by a gunman on W. 154th St.

* The chief executive of the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, a troubled Brooklyn hospital, was abruptly dismissed less than a month after a task force set up by Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined a reorganization plan in the borough, the New York Times reports. A member of Cuomos task force has now taken over day-to-day operations: http://nyti.ms/vGXNoa

* The Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund has launched a lawsuit on behalf of four Asian voters, who say the current redistricting process has left them disenfranchised, the News writes: http://nydn.us/vk0LaD

* The owners of 1,500 office towers in New York City are preparing for a possible strike by 22,000 members of 32 BJ, the building service workers union, at midnight on Saturday, the Times says: http://nyti.ms/s9Vi3p

* Mayor Michael Bloomberg acknowledged that the underground museum at the World Trade Center site will not open on time because of a financial dispute, according to the Associated Press: http://nyti.ms/sNdf4K

* Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance has launched a concerted effort to crack down on Internet crime, the Wall Street Journal reports: http://on.wsj.com/sMT4VZ

* During its first year, the Cuomo administration has not focused on ramping up the states use of DNA evidence, and has shied away from issuing pardons. But given Cuomos strong credentials on the issues, insiders say thats likely to change over the next year, writes Jim Dwyer in the Times: http://nyti.ms/tLum3f

Many thanks for your support of the WBGO signal improvement project. While the hardware has been purchased, there are other, recurring costs that must be funded in order to keep this new system on the air. To date, we have raised 80%of the total project fundraising goal. You can help us raise the final 20% by speaking with WBGO’s Major Gifts team: Beth Lasoff or John Newcott, at 973-624-8880 (ext. 285 for Beth, ext. 236 for John). Project success involves your active participation.

US Communist Leader: ‘Progressive Change Is Closer than We Think’ (BigGovernment)
In a Christmas break message to his party , Communist Party USA vice chair Jarvis Tyner has confirmed the vital importance of the build up to the 2012 elections to “set the stage for a new progressive era and for a socialist transformation.” Tyner draws clear right/left battle lines and the communist’s commitment to Party ‘friend’ President Barack … (more)

* Fourteen Muslim leaders are planning to boycott an interfaith breakfast with Mayor Michael Bloomberg over concerns about police surveillance of Muslims by the NYPD, according to the New York Times: http://nyti.ms/uTC66i

* The citys Department of Education has failed to collect tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid reimbursements for services provided to special needs students in recent years, the Times reports: http://nyti.ms/t4bYkG

* The pro-Cuomo Committee to Save New York is pushing the legalization of casino gambling in a recent ad blitz, but not everyone involved with the group considers it a top priority, the Wall Street Journal writes: http://on.wsj.com/tcSY80

* Following its eviction from Academy Park, Occupy Albany is now taking its efforts to resume the protests to federal court, the Times Union reports: http://bit.ly/vMXu4C

* Lt. Gov. Bob Duffy, the former mayor of Rochester, is steering clear of a heated debate there over the future of mayoral control of schools, the Democrat and Chronicle writes: http://on.rocne.ws/u4HEY6

* The Cuomo administration is considering eliminating $10 million in Medicaid funding for a hormone growth treatment sometimes taken by kids who are trying to get taller, but have no medical reason to get the treatment, the Post says: http://nyp.st/sXHGdi

As we kick-off a series of community quilting workshops during Target Free Sundays, join quilt and fiber artist Ife Felix in conversation with Faith Ringgold as they explore the history and significance of quilting as a collaborative activity. In celebration of the Kwanzaa principal Kuumba, which means creativity, we invite you to participate in the creation of a community quilt.